Edward Sloan Jr., a retired Greenville construction company owner, said the state constitution prohibits Sanford from holding both positions at the same time.

Sloan, 74, filed a petition to the state Supreme Court earlier this year without seeking lower court rulings. The high court accepted the case under its "original jurisdiction" power, which allows for first-time review of strictly constitutional questions.

Justices will hear arguments Dec. 3 and issue a ruling later.

Sloan's lawyer, James Carpenter, said a ruling in his client's favor could have "far-reaching" implications. The justices could invalidate last year's gubernatorial election and any laws signed this year by Sanford, he said.

But Sloan's court petition does not call for a broad ruling.

Sanford, in court papers, indicated he wants a narrow court ruling, limited to the question of whether he can hold both positions simultaneously.

In court papers, Sanford said he thinks he can serve both as governor and as an Air Force Reserve first lieutenant. He said that although the state constitution bans the governor from holding "any office or other commission," it makes an exception for service in the "militia," which he contends includes the Air Force Reserve.

Sloan says in court papers that a "militia" refers only to a state citizen-soldiers group, not to a U.S. military reserve branch.

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